--- product_id: 15118504 title: "Fires of Faith: Catholic England under Mary Tudor" price: "VT9747" currency: VUV in_stock: true reviews_count: 10 url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/15118504-fires-of-faith-catholic-england-under-mary-tudor store_origin: VU region: Vanuatu --- # Fires of Faith: Catholic England under Mary Tudor **Price:** VT9747 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Fires of Faith: Catholic England under Mary Tudor - **How much does it cost?** VT9747 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/15118504-fires-of-faith-catholic-england-under-mary-tudor) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Fires of Faith: Catholic England under Mary Tudor [Duffy, Eamon] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Fires of Faith: Catholic England under Mary Tudor Review: Disappointing Polemic - I read Duffy's excellent book: The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England, 1400-1580 and found it a feast of Reformation History that heretofore was untold and somewhat obscure. This book, Fires of Faith, is more of a Roman Catholic apologetic for intolerance and incompetence wreaked by Mary Tudor's regime, precisely that aspect of her reign that is quite indefensible. Duffy tries to highlight positive attributes of the regime, but is unconvincing at every turn. The grotesque burnings are defended as part of the times and we are asked to consider this as part of a zero sum game between 16th Century Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Maybe so, but this still leaves naked the inanity of the regime; Duffy admits as much in acknowledging that the burnings and circus-like show trials were counter-productive. I should say so. Although alluded to, Mary's morose psychological need for settling scores by acting in a self-destructive manner is never discussed at length. This is important given the evidence of her severely depressed and delusional state. Likewise Duffy ignores the larger historical context, including Mary's extremely unpopular marriage to Philip II (who left the squalid scene posthaste for Spain, never intending to return), the loss of Calais, and Mary's (ironic) fights with Pope Paul IV over his anti-Habsburg policies. At the end of the book, I felt an amazing sense of relief that Elizabeth I came on the scene and established the Via Media. Her dislike of Mary's religious policies was well known by the public and it was expected that a change would occur when she became Queen. They were correct. Upon her accession, heresy laws were instantaneously repealed and the the burnings ceased. During Mary's reign one could be reported to the authorities for not fingering Rosary beads. The great English Church composer, Thomas Tallis, was a Catholic and a Gentleman of Elizabeth's Chapel Royal, until his death. In 1575 Queen Elizabeth granted Tallis and William Byrd (Tallis's pupil and also a Catholic) a monopoly in England on printing music. After reading Duffy's book, the prospect of finding a comparable example of such intelligent and open thinking during Mary's reign is grimly ludicrous. Review: "Bloody" she Was and "Bloody" she stays - No amount of re-interpretation can make Mary Tudor into anything less than the mass murderer she was. The facts are simply NOT there. Of course, there were angry Catholic prelates who were egging her on at every turn, but at every point in her life,she chose to take the self centered advice of people like King Phillip II, Emperor Charles, Cardinals Pole, Bonner, & Gardiner and her Spanish relatives. Mary, with undeviating fury followed the plan that she'd had in place ever since her mother had been put away by Henry VIII, which was to do anything necessary, to KILL anything or anyone to get England back into the fold of the Papacy, another copy of her ideal state "Imperial Spain" where the evening air always smelled of burning flesh and the honest could not sleep for fear of the knock of the inquisition. She was an extremely unhappy woman, and she richly earned every moment of the pain she suffered. Ironically, even other bloody handed murderers like Phillip saw how she was alienating her people and interceded with her to at least slow, if not stop, her maniacal killing, but she would not. Given the reams of evidence, if one were to wish to rehabilitate such a character at this late date, the best way would be to say that she was born syphilitic and that she was mad. Religious mania was often a side effect of syphilis as was often seen in the Royal Houses of Europe, especially in Catholic Spain. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #1,694,226 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #2,021 in England History #2,492 in History of Christianity (Books) #3,164 in Christian Church History (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (86) | | Dimensions | 5.94 x 0.8 x 9.1 inches | | Edition | Illustrated | | ISBN-10 | 0300168896 | | ISBN-13 | 978-0300168891 | | Item Weight | 2.31 pounds | | Language | English | | Print length | 280 pages | | Publication date | October 26, 2010 | | Publisher | Yale University Press | ## Images ![Fires of Faith: Catholic England under Mary Tudor - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71lqdLLqaiL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐ Disappointing Polemic *by J***T on November 20, 2009* I read Duffy's excellent book: The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England, 1400-1580 and found it a feast of Reformation History that heretofore was untold and somewhat obscure. This book, Fires of Faith, is more of a Roman Catholic apologetic for intolerance and incompetence wreaked by Mary Tudor's regime, precisely that aspect of her reign that is quite indefensible. Duffy tries to highlight positive attributes of the regime, but is unconvincing at every turn. The grotesque burnings are defended as part of the times and we are asked to consider this as part of a zero sum game between 16th Century Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Maybe so, but this still leaves naked the inanity of the regime; Duffy admits as much in acknowledging that the burnings and circus-like show trials were counter-productive. I should say so. Although alluded to, Mary's morose psychological need for settling scores by acting in a self-destructive manner is never discussed at length. This is important given the evidence of her severely depressed and delusional state. Likewise Duffy ignores the larger historical context, including Mary's extremely unpopular marriage to Philip II (who left the squalid scene posthaste for Spain, never intending to return), the loss of Calais, and Mary's (ironic) fights with Pope Paul IV over his anti-Habsburg policies. At the end of the book, I felt an amazing sense of relief that Elizabeth I came on the scene and established the Via Media. Her dislike of Mary's religious policies was well known by the public and it was expected that a change would occur when she became Queen. They were correct. Upon her accession, heresy laws were instantaneously repealed and the the burnings ceased. During Mary's reign one could be reported to the authorities for not fingering Rosary beads. The great English Church composer, Thomas Tallis, was a Catholic and a Gentleman of Elizabeth's Chapel Royal, until his death. In 1575 Queen Elizabeth granted Tallis and William Byrd (Tallis's pupil and also a Catholic) a monopoly in England on printing music. After reading Duffy's book, the prospect of finding a comparable example of such intelligent and open thinking during Mary's reign is grimly ludicrous. ### ⭐ "Bloody" she Was and "Bloody" she stays *by S***K on July 18, 2010* No amount of re-interpretation can make Mary Tudor into anything less than the mass murderer she was. The facts are simply NOT there. Of course, there were angry Catholic prelates who were egging her on at every turn, but at every point in her life,she chose to take the self centered advice of people like King Phillip II, Emperor Charles, Cardinals Pole, Bonner, & Gardiner and her Spanish relatives. Mary, with undeviating fury followed the plan that she'd had in place ever since her mother had been put away by Henry VIII, which was to do anything necessary, to KILL anything or anyone to get England back into the fold of the Papacy, another copy of her ideal state "Imperial Spain" where the evening air always smelled of burning flesh and the honest could not sleep for fear of the knock of the inquisition. She was an extremely unhappy woman, and she richly earned every moment of the pain she suffered. Ironically, even other bloody handed murderers like Phillip saw how she was alienating her people and interceded with her to at least slow, if not stop, her maniacal killing, but she would not. Given the reams of evidence, if one were to wish to rehabilitate such a character at this late date, the best way would be to say that she was born syphilitic and that she was mad. Religious mania was often a side effect of syphilis as was often seen in the Royal Houses of Europe, especially in Catholic Spain. ### ⭐ A Defense of Catholic Terror and Holocaust *by K***. on June 2, 2019* I still can’t believe that such a book could be written-it’s like saying that the Nazis were great progressives and would have got a lot accomplished if only that war hadn’t gotten in the way -disgusting ! --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.vu/products/15118504-fires-of-faith-catholic-england-under-mary-tudor](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/15118504-fires-of-faith-catholic-england-under-mary-tudor) --- *Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu* *Store origin: VU* *Last updated: 2026-06-09*